He started out as an Italian communist, but he loves American politics. He is depicted as a carefree socialite sharing photo opportunities with visiting stars, yet he is the author of well-regarded novels. This is a career politician who still finds time to voice the character of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in the Italian version of the Disney cartoon ‘Chicken Little’. Walter Veltroni evades simple categorisation. And on the eve of the Italian elections, the leader of the centre-left Partito Democratico – and Silvio Berlusconi’s foremost political rival – remains as enigmatic as ever.

The former – and popular – mayor of Rome is providing stiff competition to centre-right leader Berlusconi, who has seen his twelve point advantage in Italian opinion polls halved in two months. Veltroni is overcoming the national disillusion with the left that accompanied the fall of Romano Prodi’s liberal government earlier this year. Since then, he has led the merger of the Christian-democratic Margherita party and leftist socialist-democrats. At 52, Veltroni is a bambino compared with most Italian politicians and certainly with the 71-year-old Berlusconi. He has been dubbed the miracle boy of the Italian left. Softly-spoken, silver haired and with a face not dissimilar to his alter-ego, Mayor Turkey Lurkey, he provides a striking contrast to his rival’s astonishingly glossy black hair and taut, tanned face.

As mayor, Veltroni started the Rome film festival, and the notte bianca that sees the city and its shops stay open all night. On his initiative, museum hours have been extended and the Colosseum has hosted concerts by Paul McCartney and Elton John. Under his influence, buildings by innovative international architects are now springing up in a city that was notorious for its distaste for any structure that did not date back to at least the 16th century.

His critics accuse the spectacled intellectual of focusing on culture at the expense of basic city services. The city’s debt has grown, road maintenance has been neglected and historic Trastevere has been colonised by late-night bars packed with crowds of booze-soaked tourists that Veltroni has sought to attract.

But the criticisms have become more muted as Veltroni has fashioned himself into the bella figura of Italian politics, commonly referred to as ‘Mr nice guy’.

He sweeps around the country in his eco-friendly campaign bus, meeting and greeting and winning support with his policies in favour of the environment and against the war in Iraq. He was voted one of five ‘titan mayors’ in Time magazine. And he shows more sympathy to women than his macho rival, pledging that they will obtain half the boardroom seats in public companies and benefit from extended nursery hours and child bonuses.

It is this liberalism that makes him so internationally appealing. While Berlusconi’s campaign rests upon restoring Italian pride, Veltroni looks further afield for inspiration. The ex-mayor’s bid for the centre vote has drawn comparisons with New Labour’s first election campaign, inviting the ‘Blair mayor’ nickname, although he cites Robert Kennedy as his hero.

He wrote the introduction to the Italian translation of Barack Obama’s book ‘The audacity of hope: thoughts on reclaiming the American dream’, and has even appropriated the Democratic Party’s campaign phrase, ‘Yes we can’, pointedly saying it in English at his speeches. His opponents have mocked Veltroni’s self-styled comparisons with Obama, dismissing him as an “Obama wannabe” who “systematically copies his speeches”. But Veltroni remains optimistic. “I don’t believe the doomsayers nor opinions polls,” he said in March. “Look at Obama – three months ago nobody would have bet on him, now look where he is.”

Softly-spoken, silver haired and with a face not dissimilar to his alter-ego, Mayor Turkey Lurkey, he provides a striking contrast to his rival’s astonishingly glossy black hair and taut, tanned face

The Obama tactic of convincing voters that he is their best bet for change is shared by Berlusconi, which is ironic, given that Veltroni is a career politician and Berlusconi a two-time prime minister. But change is something that Italy needs to hear – so much so that this election might be a good one to lose. The garbage mountains in Naples and the ban on exports of that national symbol of pride, mozzarella, have left Italy with a wounded image and hurt pride. The country reported the greatest fall in consumer morale in the world in 2007 and suffered further humiliation earlier this month when it learnt that Spain had overtaken Italy in economic output per head. Salaries are stagnant, prices and taxation rising, and politicians are bearing the brunt of the resentment. Perhaps that should not be surprising. Italy’s political apparatus costs four times as much as those of the UK and France, and ten times as much as Spain’s.

Italy’s blend of proportional representation with ‘bonus’ parliamentary seats awarded to the party with the most votes has created an electoral system infamous for spawning unstable governments (the next prime minister will have the dubious honour of leading the 62nd government since the Second World War).

But whichever way the election swings, this will not be the last of Veltroni. A grand coalition is being considered. Before the fall of Prodi’s government, Berlusconi and Veltroni had been in talks to stabilise the electoral system. Now, it looks likely that if neither obtains a large majority, there will be a post-electoral pact between them, in an attempt to lessen the insecure nature of governing.

With stifling bureaucracy, corruption, and an incompetent public sector all as alive and well as ever, but this time round coupled with disaffected and exasperated voters, Italians are certainly ready for a change. It is just a question of who is ready to give it to them.